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Archaeological sites of the Mediterranean region are widely colonized by weed species causing various problems both to the monuments and the functionality of the sites. Due to recent regulatory restrictions for herbicide use at archaeological sites, flame weeding was studied as an alternative weed management method. The objective of the study was to test two propane doses (99 kg ha−1 and 129 kg ha−1) applied two, three, or four times at three archaeological sites of Greece (Kolona, Ancient Messene and Early Christian Amfipolis). Percent weed control and weed heights were significantly affected by flaming treatments. Visual evaluation of percent weed control suggested that the propane dose of 129 kg ha−1 applied four times provided excellent weed control (>90%) for over 2 months. Annual broadleaf weeds were controlled better with flaming than grasses and perennial broadleaf species. The high propane dose applied four times reduced average vegetation height to about 10 cm, which was the desirable vegetation height wanted by the managers of the archeological sites suggesting that flame weeding has the potential to be used effectively for weed management in archaeological sites of the Mediterranean region.

Wetland nightshade (WNS) (Solanum tampicense Dunal) is a member of the family Solanaceae. In some texts, WNS has been referred to as Solanum houstonii Dunal, but this homonym of the 1807 S. houstonii Martyn is illegitimate according to the International Code for Botanical Nomenclature (Wunderlin et al. 1993). WNS is thought to have originated in southern Mexico, the West Indies, Guatemala, Belize (Gentry and Standley 1974), Cuba, and El Salvador (Standley 1924). It was first reported from mainland Florida in a marsh south of Punta Gorda, Charlotte County, in 1983 (Wunderlin et al. 1993). Since that time, it has been detected in Florida in Highlands (1985), DeSoto (1991), Lee (1995), and Glades (1996) counties. Recently, WNS was rediscovered on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas (110 km west of Key West) where it was growing in a moist seep area within the partially ruined Small Magazine in Fort Jefferson. This species has been included in the plant list of the Dry Tortugas National Park since 1974 (Reimus and Robertson 1995). Common names include Tampico soda apple (Reimus and Robertson 1995), sosumba in Belize (Gentry and Standley 1974), Ajicon in Cuba, and huistomate or huevo de gato in El Salvador (Standley 1924). Aquatic soda apple (ASA) has been the common name recently attached to this plant in Florida. Based on habitat requirements and the size of the fruit, the common name wetland nightshade is more appropriate for this species rather than ASA (D. W. Hall, personal communication) WNS is found in wetland habitats along streams or in moist areas in cypress [Taxodium distichum (L.) Richard] domes but does not necessarily tolerate continuous flooding like true aquatic species. Berries are 0.6 to 1.0 cm in diameter rather than the size of the more appro-

The word poison entered the English language in 1387 as ‘poysoun”, and in Memoirs of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, v. 1, 1785, the word poison-ivy was used for the first time: “Poison ivy … produces the same kind of inflammation and eruptions … as poison wood tree”.The first known reference to poison-ivy, Toxicodendron radicans (L.) Ktze., dates from the 7th century in China and the 10th century in Japan. Since Toxicodendron species do not grow in Europe, the plants remained unknown to Western civilization until explorers visited the New World seven centuries later. Capt. John Smith (1579–1631) wrote the first description of poison-ivy and originated its common name; he noted a similarity in the climbing habit of North American poison-ivy to English ivy (Hedera helix L.).